The Church, Authority, and Foucault

The Church, Authority and Foucault provides a fresh ecclesiological critique that confirms the Church's vocation to welcome the stranger, honour new wisdom and work for change. The book breaks new ground by using Michel Foucault's concept of space as a basis for interpreting church as a space of freedom. This leads to a re-evaluation of authority using Foucault's concept of power-relations. Within this framework, Steven Ogden construes the church leader's role as principal interpreter of faith. He then examines the inherent risk of misusing authority in ways that diminish the consent of the faithful. Further, Ogden demonstrates the critical role gossip has in ecclesial discourse, exacerbating the plight of the stranger as a consequence of the misuse of authority. Ogden concludes that the Church is called to enable human transformation in ways that challenge and renew structures of authority, within and beyond the Church.